SLIDELL, La. — Having seen two drivers who seemed to be handling a minor crash on the side of the roadway, deputies in Slidell were stopping to help Friday afternoon when one of the drivers fled the scene.
The driver who allegedly led sheriff's deputies on the chase was Griffin Batiste a 19-year-old Slidell man, two days away from his twentieth birthday.
Batiste drove a Mitsubishi Galant north on US Highway 190 away from the scene, leaving the other motorist on the side of the road just north of Copeland's of New Orleans.
Deputies with the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office gave chase, following Batiste for more than half a mile, before the hit & run suspect turned right on Crestwood Drive.
Deputies said that's when the Batiste picked up the pace down a dead-end roadway.
A mile after Batiste allegedly tried to lose deputies by speeding down Crestwood Drive, the Galant reached the end of the road, crashing into a culvert and flipping over.
The collision was serious enough to send Batiste to the hospital, where he'll be treated for injuries from the crash. Firefighters were called to the scene to get Batiste out of the crashed car, near Crestwood and Maplewood drives.
"Warrants will be issued for his arrest for hit and tun, aggravated flight from an officer, obstruction of a roadway and reckless operation," an STPSO statement said.."Additional charges are possible."
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